PITAPOLICY is pleased to announce that it will be a regular contributor to the Kabobfest blog. On that note, please see the discussion of Media and Influence below in the ‘pita-consuming’ region since legal, political, and economic factors influence who influences who, and how. Another version appeared on the Arab American Institute blog. Kabobfest includes the entire analysis.
June will feature posts focusing on MENA electoral politics. Coincidentally, it is also an election year in the US, so PITAPOLICY is excited to announce that it will be joining a group from June 2nd-4th to follow Bill Pascrell’s campaign in New Jersey. The NJ primary is scheduled for June 5th, which will be a great comparison with the election discussions transpiring with the Arab Awakening. Feel free to submit your essays on the subject for a June posting!
Influence & Freedom
By: Mehrunisa Qayyum
“None of the MENA countries rank in the top 50,” according to the Reporters Without Border 2011-2012 ‘Press Freedom Index’.
This trend alone, calls for a conversation between media, civil society and emerging citizen journalists. For those who are wary of outside non-MENA based organizations judging MENA countries, I have an indigenous source too. Here’s the sobering factoid: the Amman-based Center for Defending the Freedom of Journalists (CDFJ) conducted its survey on press freedom and found that only 2 percent of the 500 or so journalist said that they were entirely satisfied with the state of press freedom in the kingdom. Click here to continue…
